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SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



one consisting of large ants (Formica cruentata), 

 the other being a much smaller species. We 

 watched for some time, but we had a long day's 

 walk ahead, as we were bound for the old ruined 

 castle of St. Agnese, which crowns a high rock 

 overlooking Mentone, some five miles off; and 

 we wanted to collect plants and insects on the 

 way ; all of which takes time. We left the ants to 

 their devices, and on our return there were some of 

 the slain lying about, and a few of either colony 

 walking listlessly as though conscious of the 

 terrible calamity that had taken place. This, 

 however, was a comparatively small battle. Many 

 years previously I had seen a wall at Mentone, 

 several yards long, one seething black mass of fight- 

 ing and dead ants, all of them of the same species, 

 namely, Formica cruentata. Among the fighters 

 on that occasion was one ant which had lost its 

 abdomen, carrying a whole ant as prisoner. 



At Hyeres the insect season was still further 

 advanced. About the third week in April Theslor 

 ballus was fairly common but was only out for a 

 short time. The females of Gonoptcryx cleopatra 

 were out and were shortly followed by an 

 abundance of males, which latter were readily 

 attracted by waving a pale-green muslin net to and 

 fro. After collecting all I wanted, I found it 

 amusing to watch them hovering round the net so 

 soon as it was waved near them. A darker green 

 net failed to attract them. Mclitaea cinxia came 

 out in profusion a few days later, as did 

 Anthocharis belia, including the var. ausonia. 

 A. cardamines, A. cuphenoides, Papilio podalirius, 

 P. machaon, Lcucophasia sinapis, Pieris daplidice, Colias 

 helice, Thecla ilicis, Lycaena astrarche and L. baton, 

 Syrichtus sao, Procris globulariae and Bombyx rubi 

 were all to be found more or less abundantly. 

 A few hibernated specimens of Vanessa antiopa and 

 V. polychloros were to be occasionally seen. I 

 caught one Thais Cassandra on the Pic du Fenouillet 

 on April 24th, and another on the 29th at Cavalaire, 

 a pretty spot on the coast reached by the narrow- 

 gauge railway between Hyeres and St Raphael 

 Here too I found a couple of Lycaena baetica, and the 

 pretty tiger-beetles Cicindclalittoralis were plentiful. 

 The "bee beetle" (Trichius fasciatus) also occurred. 

 The views along the coast-line are exquisitely 

 charming; but the train does not hurry, it travels at 

 about twelve miles an hour, and when it stops at 

 the stations often allows sufficient time for botani- 

 zing. At one stoppage I was fortunate enough 

 to gather flowers of the rare Echium creticum. 



An evening's stroll with a net around the electric 

 arc lamps which illuminate the principal palm 

 avenue leading out of Hyeres, resulted in the 

 capture of two fine and perfect Saturnia pyri, 

 four water-beetles (Hydrophihts piccits) and very 

 battered specimens of the moths Arctia villica and 

 Smcrinthus tiliae. Just before we left Hyeres, 



about May 1st, the last butterflies to appear 

 were Limenitis Camilla and Melanargia syllius; the 

 latter becomes abundant at Hyeres a little later. 



A small black fly (Anthrax) and the pretty, 

 ubiquitous little Bombylius were the most con- 

 spicuous of the Diptera ; and of beetles, Trichodes 

 alvearius, Anthaxia cyanicornis, and a small Clythra 

 were frequent. Of Orthoptera, a number of 

 brightly-coloured grasshoppers, as well as Mantis 

 empusa, were found. A trap-door spider (Nemesia 

 congener) is peculiar to the Hyeres district, though 

 other forms of trap-door spiders abound at 

 Mentone and elsewhere 



The environs of Hyeres are noted for snakes, 

 and it is at first rather alarming to see and hear a 

 large dark snake gliding through the brushwood 

 just in front of one. These snakes, however, are 

 harmless, being devoid of poison fangs ; they are 

 known in France as the " Couleuvre de 

 Montpellier." A lovely emerald-green lizard 

 occasionally darts up a cork tree, and if one 

 whistles gently it sometimes stops and listens. 

 My allusion to the reptiles would not be complete, 

 without some mention of the nocturnal choruses of 

 green frogs congregated in all the tanks used for 

 irrigation. 



Our homeward journey was by way of Aries, 

 with its Roman remains ; Nimes, with its amphi- 

 theatre and Maison Carrea; Avignon, and 

 Tarascon. At the last place we saw the " Jardin 

 du Baobab," immortalized by Daudet in his novel 

 "Tartarin." In leaving Hyeres we expected to 

 have said good-bye to insect hunting ; but a 

 delightful surprise awaited us at the Pont du 

 Gard, which we made the object of an excursion 

 from Avignon. The beautiful valley of the Gard, 

 across which the Romans built this magnificent 

 aqueduct, was simply swarming with butterflies. 

 The " Aurore de Provence" (Anthocharis cuphe- 

 noides) were out in hundreds, settling on almost 

 every plant of Biscutella ; and what with Colias 

 edusa and C. hyale, Pieris daplidice (probably a local 

 variety), Lcucophasia sinapis, Papilio machaon, Lime- 

 nitis Camilla, Polyommatus alciphron, var. gordius, of 

 which I caught my only specimen here, Lycaena 

 cyllarus, L. mclanops and L. minima, Spilothyrus alceae, 

 Melitaea cinxia, Arctia hebc, and others, one's net was 

 kept pretty well plied ; and it was small wonder 

 that the two miles' walk from Remoulins station to 

 the Pont du Gard and the walk back took up the 

 whole day. Nor was the excursion less successful 

 from a botanical point of view. As for the bridge 

 itself, with its three tiers of arches spanning the 

 box-grown valley, all seen beneath a truly Pro- 

 vencal cloudless sky and baking sun, no words can 

 describe it. What a contrast to cold, windy, dusty 

 Paris, with a leaden sky overhead, whither the 

 " Rapide " train whirled us next morning ! 

 Bangor, N. Wales, 



